Taiwan:'Appalling plight' of super-fat pigs

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3136587.stm

 

Friday, 8 August, 2003, 21:44 GMT 22:44 UK

 

'Appalling plight' of super-fat pigs

 

The rearing of grossly overweight pigs in Taiwan for

ritual slaughter has been condemned by animal welfare

groups.

 

They said it was time to end the annual " Pigs of God "

contests that revolved around the force-feeding of

animals to see which could achieve the greatest mass.

 

Pigs weighing in excess of 900 kilograms have been

reported.

 

The animals, which are incapable of standing, are

dragged in front of thousands of people before having

their throats cut.

 

The Environment and Animals Society of Taiwan (East)

raised the plight of the pigs this week at a news

conference.

 

" This competition, which involves animal abuse, should

be abandoned, " East told the Taipei Times after

showing a video about the animals. " Most pigs were

terrified. They screamed loudly and failed to control

their bowels when they were moved to the scales by

several people. "

 

East has called on the country's president, Chen

Shui-Bian, to take steps to end the activity, which

this year will take place on Sunday 17 August.

 

The group is particularly concerned that he will have

one animal weighing 760 kg killed in his honour, even

though ritual slaughter is supposed to have been

outlawed by the state.

 

The competitions are said to be part of the religious

beliefs of the Hakkas, an ethnic group with a

population of over four million in Taiwan.

 

It takes two years to prepare a pig for slaughter.

East said the animals were castrated, without

anaesthesia, in the belief that this would help make

them even fatter.

 

The pigs are then penned down so they cannot move. It

is claimed in the run-up to a contest, the animals are

even force-fed sand or heavy metals such as lead to

add as much weight as possible.

 

East claimed the plight of the " pig of the president "

was symbolic of the wider suffering of animals in

Taiwan, where it said thousands of farm animals were

inhumanely killed every year.

 

A spokesman for the president's office said he had

given no financial support to the rearing of an

overweight animal but that he respected local customs.

 

 

East is a member organisation of the World Society for

the Protection of Animals (WSPA). The society's head

of campaigns Leah Garces told BBC News Online: " We are

concerned about the inhumane conditions that are

imposed on these intelligent, sentient animals. The

cruelty is extraordinary.

 

" The idea that this enormous animal should be dragged

in front of a huge crowd to have its throat slit is

appalling. But what's also appalling is that one of

these pigs should be prepared in honour of the

president - the president of a country which has laws

to prohibit the force feeding and inhumane slaughter

of animals. "